No one can be confident that the 1955 events might not reoccur in Turkey nowadays, Ruben Safrastyan, the Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, told the journalists on Thursday. According to him, presently Islamic sentiments are rising in Turkey supported by military and political elite.

The followers of Kemal Ataturk did their best to abandon theocratic model of state to create a secular, open country, but, unfortunately, they failed, he noted. Turkey’s present government has adopted course toward Islamization of the country, Safrastyan said, commenting on the frequent incidents of religious violence in Turkey. According to him, the international religious agencies and the organizations on protection of human rights are seriously concerned over the situation in Turkey.

As to Armenian communities of Istanbul, the expert quoted Hrant Dink, “It is not easy to be Armenian in Turkey”. Safrastyan considers that the Armenian community of Istanbul is a hostage of the Turkish government.

The Istanbul pogroms occurred 40 years after the Armenian Genocide. About 20 people (including 2 priests) were killed in the pogroms of September 6-7, 1955 against ethnic minorities. There were Armenians, Greeks, Jews among the victims. Many churches were destroyed and the buildings burnt.